Rivals
by NihilityChild
Summary: AU. Ever since Ran Hinamori and Daichi Souma had met, they had been Rivals. Raichi


**Disclaimer: I most definitely do NOT own Shugo Chara**

**Rivals**

Ever since Ran Hinamori and Daichi Souma met, they had been rivals. They both prided themselves in their athleticism; Daichi was the star of the soccer team and Ran was the captain of the gymnastics club at their school. They competed in all things from football to table tennis and even eating contests. It wasn't uncommon for them to shout challenges to one another when they ran into each other or were on class trips, in fact these challenges became so common their friends and classmates began to take bets on what the next challenge would be about. Nobody really knew if Ran and Daichi's rivalry made them the best of friends who competed for fun or enemies always trying to find a way to one up the other. That is, until a certain track meet happened during their final year of high school.

This meet began like any other, with Daichi and Ran taunting each other and most other students placing bets on their favourite of the two to win. The audience cheered as the racers took off, Ran and Daichi already leading the pack as they pulled away from the other racers. This race took the two through a cleared part of town; they were neck and neck for the most part and way ahead of the other participants by now. Ran wasn't paying much attention to what was in front of her as she threw another taunt at her rival, and so she didn't notice until it was too late that a black cat was crossing her path and she tripped in her attempt not to step on the poor feline.

Pain went through her ankle as she lay on the road, the cat frightened away by her clumsy attempt at avoiding it. '_Daichi probably never even looked back when I fell,_' Ran thought as she sat up. '_I'll never hear the end of this.'_ Ran groaned as she tried to push herself into a standing position, but even more pain shot through her ankle when she put some weight on it and she fell backwards into someone's arms. She looked up to see Daichi's worried face staring down at her.

"You ok?" he asked her as he set her down on the sidewalk. "What happened?"

"I tripped when a cat crossed my path, I think I sprained my ankle on the landing," she replied, feeling her bad ankle to see how bad it was. She had been surprised when Daichi had not only come back for her but caught her as well, and now he was sitting down next to her instead of rejoining the race like she had expected him to. She sighed as she leaned back on her hands, '_definitely sprained, now what am I supposed to do?'_

"I'm guessing that means it is sprained?" Daichi asked her, looking down at her ankle after receiving a simple nod in response. After a moment he looked back up at her, "can I see your bandana for a sec'?" he asked, pointing at her head where said cloth was tying back her hair. She untied it and handed it over, curious as to what he wanted it for, absently noting the sounds of the other racers getting closer to their location. She watched him as he tied the fabric around her ankle, asking her if it was too tight when he was finished. "We don't have any ice to keep the swelling down right now, so using your bandana as a compress will have to do for now," he told her as he sat back to inspect his handiwork, by now racers were passing them by, not even giving them a second glance.

Ran looked away from the people passing them by to stare at the boy sitting next to her. She didn't speak up until he had noticed she was staring and asked what was up. "Why did you come back for me?" she asked, blunt and honest as per usual.

Daichi stared back at her, expression unreadable. "What do you mean?"

Ran looked down at her ankle, not wanting him to see her now embarrassed expression. "I didn't think you'd have stopped to help me," she stated honestly, now ashamed of her earlier thoughts about her rival. She wouldn't blame him if he were offended by how she had viewed him and stopped helping her, and so she nearly jumped out of her skin when he _laughed_. She stared wide-eyed at his grinning face as he attempted to stop laughing.

"Of course I would," he said, still grinning. "We always finish these races together, whether it's in the lead, or in dead last. Besides, it wouldn't be as much fun without you and your weird teasing." He stood up and looked back in the direction of the start of the race. "We should go back so you can get your ankle looked at by someone who actually knows what they're doing." He knelt down in front of her with his back to her, looking back at her when she hadn't moved. "Well? Get on, I'll carry you back to the school."

She just stared at him, "What about the race?"

"What about it?"

Ran smirked as she looked up at him, crossing her arms, "You're no quitter and neither am I, and didn't you just say we finish together in first or in last place?"

He grinned back at her, getting her meaning and nodding his agreement.

She climbed onto his back, being mindful of her ankle, and held on tight as he rose out of his kneeling position. As soon as he was fully standing she pumped out a fist and shouted, "GO!" in her best cheerleader voice. With a laugh Daichi happily complied, setting off in the direction the other students had run at a leisurely jog. Ran smiled as she watched the scenery go by; even though she had run through this part of town a lot she had never really _looked_ at the place she ran by. As they came up on the half way point she noticed a cat stretched out on top of a wall in the epitome of relaxation, and it wasn't just any cat, it was the black cat she had nearly trampled. It looked up as they passed, staring at Ran with an almost smug expression. Ran laughed, startling Daichi who attempted to look back at her as he continued to jog.

"What are you laughing at?" he asked, giving up on trying to see the girl he was carrying.

"I just saw the cat I nearly ran over," Ran said, smiling at the back of Daichi's head, "you know I always thought that black cats were unlucky, but I guess that's just a myth after all." They went on in silence for a while, enjoying taking it slow for once without all the competition and playful insults. "Hey, Daichi?" Ran spoke up again, hugging him a little tighter when he hummed to show he was listening, "Thanks." She shifted forward and kissed him on his cheek, when she settled back she was blushing and could have sworn he was too.

Back at the finish line all of the students were confused when the winner of the race was not Ran or Daichi, and even more confused when all of the racers but those two had crossed the finish line. When the two finally crossed the finish line they were questioned by their friends and the more nosy students why Daichi was carrying Ran and why they had lost the race.

After that their challenges towards each other had become less frequent, and it became more common to see the two walking around town together instead of running around. Although no one who had known them for that long were surprised when, years later, they had shouted "Race you to the car!" after their wedding ceremony had finished.

**AN: This story was inspired by a scene from Cardcaptor Sakura and the word Rival which I could not get out of my head all morning. And you readers may find it funny that while I was writing this I kept replacing the word 'students' with 'stupids', so if I missed any of those misspellings I would appreciate it if you could let me know. Also if anyone has any advice for me to improve, or if there are any other mistakes in spelling or character-wise, please let me know? And now I must thank you all that took the time to read my work, even if you end up hating it, it still makes me happy that you still read this short story.**


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